Low harvest amount of cocoa smallholder has became a great constraint for farmer in order to carry out a proper postharvest practice. Low production of raw cocoa beans cause farmers are not able to ferment their cocoa beans that lead to low quality of cocoa beans produced. Addition of starter culture to improve the fermentation performance has been previously reported by some researchers. In this study, Lactobacillus fermentum (LF) inoculum was used as stater culture for small scale cocoa fermentation (15 kg). The LF culture (10 7 CFU/gr) was added in several concentration (1, 2.5, and 5% w/w) prior cocoa fermentation. The fermentation was carried out in 4 days (96 h) with once turning in 48 h. The result showed that the addition of LF in small batch of cocoa fermentation could improve the performance of fermentation and resulted in higher amount of fermented cocoa beans (70,34%, 5% LF) compared to natural fermentation and fair average quality (FAQ) beans (45% and 41%, respectively). This research result is significantly important solving the issues of fermentation concerning with minimum quantity of cocoa needed. With this approach, small batch of cocoa fermentation even could result in comparable quality to full-batch fermentation.
Shigella dysenteriae is a gastrointestinal pathogen which shows resistance to antibiotics. A study has been conducted to investigate alternative antibacterial agents, due to the emerging resistance of S. dysenteriae to ciprofloxacin and other antibiotic classes. In this study, antibacterial properties of cocoa ethanolic extract (CEE) and its impact on growth and morphology of S. dysenteriae were evaluated. The effect of CEE on bacterial growth was assayed by using agar-well diffusion method and by observing morphological changes of bacterial cells through the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, CEE was also applied orally to mice infected with S. dysenteriae. The intestinal fluids was cultured in selective medium to evaluate growth of S. dysenteriae colonies. This study demonstrated that CEE at concentrations of 15.6 mg/mL inhibited S. dysenteriae growth, and at concentrations of 500 mg/mL and 1,000 mg/mL exhibited equal activity to 6.5 g/mL of ciprofloxacin. SEM showed that S. dysenteriae cells had formed filaments, indicating that CEE caused cellular stress to S. dysenteriae. In in vivo assay, CEE showed suppression of S. dysenteriae colony in the mice intestine. This research suggests that CEE could potentially be used as antibacterial agent againsts S. dysenteriae.
Cocoa bean fermentation is a critical step in the formation of chocolate aroma precursors. Small-scale fermentation is needed to accommodate fermentation practice during low season and fruit scarcity. The study was conducted to address the minimum amount of wet cocoa beans required for a successful fermentation. In the trials, wet cocoa beans at different quantities, i.e. 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 15, and 40 kg, were incubated in separate wooden boxes for 4 days (96 hours) and turned once after 48 hours. Temperature and pH of the pulp and beans were measured every 6 hours. Dry beans were visually inspected to determine the number of grayish and purple cotyledons indicating unfermented beans. In general, smaller scale fermentations, i.e. 1 to 15 kg, resulted in similar profiles with that of standard mini-box fermentation (40 kg) in terms of temperature, pulp pH and bean pH. The 40 kg fermentation resulted in the lowest percentage of purple beans with no grayish beans, meanwhile smaller scale fermentations showed higher number of unfermented beans. The logarithmic regression indicates that as much as 1.4 kg beans producing unfermented beans of less than 20% which meets the criteria of grade 3 based on the Indonesian National Standard for cocoa bean (SNI 2323:2008/Amd1:2010). Data analysis shows that temperature below 35°C for 42 hours was associated with higher percentage of grayish and purple beans. It is concluded that cocoa bean fermentation can be carried out at least at 5 kg scale, and temperature at 42 hours could be a parameter for process monitoring.
Effect of the cocoa crude extract on mortality of breast cancer cell lines i.e. MCF-7, T47D and normal cell (Vero), was observed. Crude cocoa extract prepared from a freshly dried cocoa bean that was containing 14% catechin and 0.6% caffeine. Catechin and caffeine content were modulated to 2-folds (28% catechin or 1.2% caffeine) and 3-folds (42% catechin or 1.8% caffeine) by adding pure compounds. Extracts were dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) at concentrations ranging from 200 to 1600 μg/ml. The positive control was doxorubicin (0.5-16 μg/ml in DMSO). Cell lines (MCF-7, T47D, and Vero) were incubated in test sample for 24h at 37°, prior to 3-(4,4-dimetylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The absorbance of each well was measured at 550 nm, and lethal concentration (LC50) was calculated. The cocoa extract induced mortality of breast cancer cell lines but not in Vero cells. The effect on MCF-7 was greater than on T47D, given the LC50 was 1236 μg/ml (MCF-7) and 1893 μg/ml (T47D). Cytotoxic potential of cocoa extract was much lower than doxorubicin whose LC50 was 0,777 μg/ml (MCF-7) and 0,082 μg/ml (T47D). Increasing catechin content to 2-folds did not significantly affect LC50 value, but 3-folds catechin content reduced LC50 to 1021 μg/ml. Meanwhile increasing caffeine content to 2-folds significantly reduced LC50 to 750 μg/ml, however, 3-fold content resulted in slightly higher LC50 at 780 μg/ml. This indicates that cocoa extract have anti-cancer potential, and purification may improve this property.
Cocoa powder comes with various attributes in its taste affecting consumer acceptance. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach can be used to identify the effect of each attribute on the sensory profile of cocoa powder. This present study used the AHP approach to determine the degree of importance of sensory attributes on several types of cocoa powder and find the type with the best sensory profile. Cocoa powder comes from cocoa beans made through fermentation and non-fermentation process. In addition, we used non-fermented cocoa powder treated with water and incubated at 45oC for 4, 8, and 16 hours later named as incubated cocoa powder. Then, the sensory attributes of fermented cocoa powder were used as the reference in assessing the sensory profile of incubated cocoa powder, including the one going through the treatment. The sensory analysis performed by trained panelists revealed 11 attributes that made up the flavor profile of cocoa powder. Of these 11 attributes, only 4 were considered primary attributes with a high degree of importance, including chocolate (23.7%), sweet (19.9%), caramel (11.8%), and nutty (10.9%). Other attributes had a lower degree of importance, including creamy (7.4%), fruity (6.5%), green (5.4%), flowery (4.8%), astringent (4.5%), bitter (3.1%), and acid (2.2%). AHP also ranked the incubated cocoa powder based on the similarity of the flavor profile with fermented cocoa powder. Nonfermented cocoa powder without treatments fell into the lowest rank, while nonfermented cocoa powder with treatments fell into a higher category in the following order: 8 hours > 16 hours > 4 hours. To summarize, AHP can be used in decisionmaking affected by many factors. AHP has been proven effective in determining the sensory profile of cocoa powder, especially in choosing the attribute withthe highest effect. In addition, AHP helps determine the best treatment for incubated cocoa powder to produce the most similar sensory profile to fermented cocoa powder.
In an attempt to improve the quality of dried cocoa beans produced from small holder farming in Indonesia, experiment of cocoa beans and Lactobacillus fermentum (LF) was conducted. LF culture at concentration 5% w/w was added into dried cocoa beans and incubated for four days. Treated beans were sun dried and evaluated for slaty and purple appearance on the nibs, as well as defects and sensory quality. This study reports a significant decrease in the proportion of slaty and purple beans in the treated groups either in smaller (30 kg) or in the larger (150 kg) scales. The moulded bean number surged, but moulded beans was already present in the untreated group. The sensory profile was obtaining higher scores on the chocolate flavor, bitterness and astringency attributes. It is concluded that LF culture could be used for improving the physical and sensory qualities of cocoa beans from small holder farmers.
In septic condition, the skin normal flora Staphylococcal spp. may trigger local and sistemic skin infection. In this study antibacterial activity of cocoa ethanolic extract (CEE) against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis infections was observed in vitro and in vivo. Ethanolic extract from unfermented cocoa beans was prepared as solution in the in vitro testing, while for in vivo testing the extract was prepared as cream. Agar well diffusion assay showed that CEE ranging from 7.8 mg/mL to 1000 mg/mL demonstrated inhibitory activity against growth of either S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Inhibitory activity of CEE was in concentration dependent manner, and was less potential than either cephalexin 4 x 10 -3 mg/mL or cefotaxime 8 x 10 -3 mg/mL. Linear regression of CEE concentration plotted against inhibition zone values ha dpredicted the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of CEE towards S. aureus and S. epidermidis were at 341.9 mg/mL and 359.7 mg/mL, respectively. Topical application of cream containing CEE at several concentrations (2%, 4%, and 8%) demonstrated healing properties towards incision wound infected with S. aureus and S. epidermidis cultures in rabbit-skin model. CEE cream promoted wound contraction and higher recovery rate than of base cream (negative control) but lower than mupirocin 2% cream. In S. aureus and S. epidermidis infected wound models, CEE cream 8% improved wound recovery to 72.7% and 86.1% from original rates of 23.5% and 34.7% (base cream application). Catechin and procyanidis are suggested playing roles in alleviation of wound inflammation and stimulation of extracellular matrix accumulation, thus accelerate the wound healing process. This study proposes utilization of cocoa bean as source of active ingredient for skin care products.
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